How to Save Money When Going to Disneyland Hong Kong

5 years ago, it was my first time to go to Hong Kong Disneyland. We did not join any tour but we did get to purchase discounted tickets (10% cheaper than published rate) from the travel agency situated at the lobby of Imperial Hotel in TST.

via hongkongdisneyland.com

If your hotel / hostel cannot offer discounted tickets for Disneyland, I read in Hong Kong for Dummies (a thread in Pinoy Exchange) that you can purchase them upon arrival at HKIA via the CTS Booth. Another alternative is to buy discounted tickets from Ticket Mart (ticketmart.hk) or Klook.com. We’ve used their services to avail of discounted tickets for Ngong Ping 360 so I can personally vouch for them.

Now, we ended up spending A LOT of money – when we shouldn’t have – in HK Disneyland basically because we were uninformed and unprepared.

Hopefully, you guys won’t have to suffer the same with the tips below.

Bring your own food! – Takas or not, I saw a lot of peeps – mostly Filipinos admittedly – with their own packed meals. I wish we had done so, too, because it is extremely hard to get seats inside Disney’s Banquet Hall. We had to wait for almost an hour just to get 1 table. 3 of us even ended up eating right next to the condiments section out of sheer desperation.

Bring your own tumbler / water bottle – I got so used to the lack of free drinking / service water in HK that I was quite shocked when I saw Disneyland offering drinking water stations! You can save a lot of money if you just fell in line (quite short so no worries) and grabbed some water. You can always come back for more. 🙂 Nobody cares!

Wear “waterproof” shoes – In the event that it rains…this way you won’t be uncomfortable going around. Better yet, check the weather report. IF you think it’s gonna rain, either postpone your trip or put a raincoat on. I saw a lot of locals with their shiny plastic raincoats going around Disney without a care to the world. I was envious to say the least.

Buy the 2-day ticket at a discounted price. I didn’t know about it when I was there and though a return trip didn’t have any place in our jam-packed itinerary it would have been nice to know about it all the same. If you have time to spare, I highly encourage you to get a 2-day ticket. This way you can enjoy Disney at leisure.

Go early so you can beat the crowds. We boarded the train just before 9 I think and we had no one with us when we switched trains and got on the Mickey train.

If you are going to leave right at closing time, I highly suggest you buy your return tickets early to avoid the queues – assuming you are not using Octopus cards, that is.

We didn’t stay behind to watch the fireworks – and that’s something I truly regret. I hope you guys don’t do the same because it’s the same kind of fireworks you see with the opening credits for Disney movies.

Disney souvenirs are nice 🙂 They’re pricey but they’re one of a kind, and you can be sure that with these souvenirs your recipients will know na it’s from HK talaga 🙂

We opted for the Single Rider lane coz it’s so much faster – never mind if we didn’t always get to enjoy the rides together.

If you are watching a 3D show in Disney, fall in line EAAAAAARLY. The 3D effects are so much cooler when you are seating in the front row. Max na siguro yung third row but I can’t personally vouch for it. We always take the front row seats. 🙂

If you want the best “seats” for the parade, fall in line EARLY! They’re worth it, too. They’re scheduled at 1pm and 4pm respectively.

Smile for the cameras at Space Mountain – even if you can’t see them. 🙂

There’s this jungle boat ride adventure – I forgot its name. If you don’t want to get soaked, please avoid sitting on the left side of the boat’s captain. As in exact left – like you’re sitting right next to her. That’s the only part where the passengers would get wet. I know so. From personal experience. =/

For the Tarzan adventure, I hope one of you gets selected as the “comrades” of the pirates. You’ll get free souvenir badges afterwards. You’ll have to do a bit of playacting for it, but hey it’s Disney so go ahead and act like kids!

Parachute drop – for a thrill-seeker like me – is not worth it. Well, actually it is if only I hadn’t imagined it would be exciting. It was fun – ticklish fun but not oh-my-God-scream-your-heart-out thrilling.